Earth day is just a couple days away and is a time for us to slow down and appreciate the beautiful planet we live on. People will be celebrating the holiday for days before it actually arrives on April 22nd by doing many different things to help the environment. Some ways people celebrate the holiday are by spending their time helping out and cleaning up the world we live in, and others donate items such as electronics so they are disposed of properly.

Another great way to celebrate Earth day is to do some fun crafts with the kids! This will give them a chance to learn at an early age just what the holiday is all about. We have put together a list of some educational and enjoyable activities that the entire family can take pleasure in together!

Handprint Wreath
This activity is a great way to help the kids learn just how they can help their planet, all while letting their creative side show. This craft is suitable for children ages 2 and older with the help of a parent.

Materials:

Green or blue paper or cardstock for the handprints

Pencil

Glue

Paper plate

Scissors

Hole punch

Yarn or string

Marker

Earth print outs from online or make your own

Instructions:
1. Trace your child’s hand on paper, then cut out.
2. Take paper plate and cut out the center.
3. Glue the hands around the plate.
4. Cut out the planets and glue them to the hands.
5. Then glue to plate.
6. Use a hole punch to make a hole for the yarn.
7. Then write on each hand, one way to help your planet. (Recycling bottles, turning off the lights, planting a tree, etc.)

Happy Earth, Sad Earth
This project is another educational way for children to learn what is good for our Earth and what things are bad for it. This craft is suitable for children 3 and older with the help of a parent.

Materials:

Paper plates

Blue food coloring

Paint brush

Green paint

Permanent marker

Index cards (or make your own)

Blutack (or sticky tack)

Instructions:
1. Use the blue food coloring to paint your paper plates so it gets a watery effect to it.
2. Then add green paint after it dries to make up the Earth’s colors.
3. Use the permanent marker to make a happy face on one plate, and a sad face on the other.
4. Using the sticky tack, stick them to your wall or refrigerator door.
5. On index cards, write different topics that make our Earth “happy” or “sad.” For instance, pollution can go under the “sad Earth” and recycling can go under the “happy Earth.”
6. Once finished, go over all the topics with your child and teach them reasons on why each went under the category they did.

Tissue Paper Earth
Get crafty with this fun activity that allows you to recycle an old cereal box! It will surely be an enjoyable experience for both you, and the children! This craft is suitable for pre-school children and older with the help of a parent.

Materials:

Old cereal box

Tissue paper –blue, green (and white, if necessary)

Glue

Instructions:
1. Cut circles out of the old cereal box to make your Earth.
2. Cut the tissue paper into squares about 2 inches x 2 inches.
3. If your cardboard is white, you do not need to use any of the white tissue paper (for snow, clouds, etc.)
4. Brush a layer of glue onto the circles, then stick down the tissue paper squares in different spots.
5. You can lay the tissue paper down flat, or make some crumpled to look like mountains.
6. Once your Earth has dried, you can choose to add some Earth Day education to the back of it by writing some useful ways to help our Earth stay clean.

These crafts are a wonderful way to gain knowledge about the planet we live on and helpful ways to keep our environment as clean as possible. When finished, use these crafts as decoration around your home to remind the little ones to help keep our atmosphere fresh, even once Earth Day is over!

Have a creative Earth Day craft idea? Share with us by commenting below!